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00:00:03 We were serving in a small town in Alberta, 00:00:07 and then we began having children. 00:00:10 When we moved to Craig we had four children. 00:00:13 And after living here, we now have nine children. 00:00:18 You were given this trust, and so as a parent, 00:00:23 you need to put the Kingdom first; 00:00:25 you need to set a good example; you need to be at the meetings; 00:00:29 you need to be regular in field service. 00:00:31 We really believed that we needed to love Jehovah first 00:00:36 in order to be a good example for our children. 00:00:40 They helped us see that what would make us happy were spiritual things. 00:00:44 My parents, more in action than in words, 00:00:47 taught us to seek first the Kingdom. 00:00:50 With nine kids, it’s always going to be hectic. 00:00:52 You have extra children; you have more excuses, perhaps. 00:00:56 Having nine children is a challenge in a million ways. 00:01:07 Yeah, she had moments where she’d sit 00:01:10 in her rocking chair and just look so exhausted. 00:01:14 I remember one time when it was time to go to the meeting, 00:01:18 but I was so exhausted. 00:01:21 And I thought of Isaiah 40, where Jehovah says 00:01:25 that “those hoping in Jehovah will regain power.” 00:01:28 So I figured that Jehovah wants me to do it. 00:01:31 He’s going to make me strong enough to do this. 00:01:33 So I prayed, and I got ready. 00:01:36 It’s a scramble. 00:01:42 In Hebrews, we see the encouragement 00:01:46 to never forsake “our meeting together.” 00:01:49 My dad always spoke of that. 00:01:50 There was a time that we had to travel in the wintertime, 00:01:55 maybe up to two hours to get to the meeting. 00:01:58 You’d come back to your home late at night, 00:02:02 you know, with all these kids that are worn out—and yourself too. 00:02:06 Seeing the importance that they placed on the meetings, 00:02:10 I was able to see that you never take meetings for granted. 00:02:15 My parents always instilled in us consistency 00:02:19 in field service just like the meetings. 00:02:23 It was just what we did. 00:02:27 That wasn’t questioned. 00:02:28 We got up on Saturday morning, 00:02:30 and we got ourselves out the door and in service. 00:02:33 We couldn’t simply just be a backseat ornament. 00:02:37 We knew that we were there to give a witness. 00:02:42 From an early age, we were really following the example 00:02:46 of our parents in showing interest in people. 00:02:49 So because of that, we enjoyed being in the ministry. 00:02:53 It gave me a sense of purpose. 00:02:55 I had people to go visit in service. 00:02:57 I had to know what I was going to talk to them about and have a plan. 00:03:01 In field service, we would often take breaks 00:03:05 for the sake of the children and ourselves. 00:03:08 It was important to have our children 00:03:12 enjoy field service—not push them hard 00:03:15 and be too rigid, and so forth. 00:03:19 I think about Proverbs 22:6 in the Byington translation 00:03:23 where it says to “give a boy the start his course requires.” 00:03:28 They did that by putting the spiritual things 00:03:33 before the material things. 00:03:35 Jehovah helped us to be the best parents we could be. 00:03:40 We failed at times, but I always knew that Jehovah was the best Parent. 00:03:44 So if we could teach them to love Him, then he would take over. 00:03:50 Well, we as a family were successful 00:03:53 because we did have Jehovah in our lives. 00:03:55 All our children 00:03:57 are doing very well in the truth. 00:04:00 And so we’re very happy about that, 00:04:02 and I’m sure it makes Jehovah happy.
00:00:03 We were serving in a small town in Alberta, 00:00:07 and then we began having children. 00:00:10 When we moved to Craig we had four children. 00:00:13 And after living here, we now have nine children. 00:00:18 You were given this trust, and so as a parent, 00:00:23 you need to put the Kingdom first; 00:00:25 you need to set a good example; you need to be at the meetings; 00:00:29 you need to be regular in field service. 00:00:31 We really believed that we needed to love Jehovah first 00:00:36 in order to be a good example for our children. 00:00:40 They helped us see that what would make us happy were spiritual things. 00:00:44 My parents, more in action than in words, 00:00:47 taught us to seek first the Kingdom. 00:00:50 With nine kids, it’s always going to be hectic. 00:00:52 You have extra children; you have more excuses, perhaps. 00:00:56 Having nine children is a challenge in a million ways. 00:01:07 Yeah, she had moments where she’d sit 00:01:10 in her rocking chair and just look so exhausted. 00:01:14 I remember one time when it was time to go to the meeting, 00:01:18 but I was so exhausted. 00:01:21 And I thought of Isaiah 40, where Jehovah says 00:01:25 that “those hoping in Jehovah will regain power.” 00:01:28 So I figured that Jehovah wants me to do it. 00:01:31 He’s going to make me strong enough to do this. 00:01:33 So I prayed, and I got ready. 00:01:36 It’s a scramble. 00:01:42 In Hebrews, we see the encouragement 00:01:46 to never forsake “our meeting together.” 00:01:49 My dad always spoke of that. 00:01:50 There was a time that we had to travel in the wintertime, 00:01:55 maybe up to two hours to get to the meeting. 00:01:58 You’d come back to your home late at night, 00:02:02 you know, with all these kids that are worn out—and yourself too. 00:02:06 Seeing the importance that they placed on the meetings, 00:02:10 I was able to see that you never take meetings for granted. 00:02:15 My parents always instilled in us consistency 00:02:19 in field service just like the meetings. 00:02:23 It was just what we did. 00:02:27 That wasn’t questioned. 00:02:28 We got up on Saturday morning, 00:02:30 and we got ourselves out the door and in service. 00:02:33 We couldn’t simply just be a backseat ornament. 00:02:37 We knew that we were there to give a witness. 00:02:42 From an early age, we were really following the example 00:02:46 of our parents in showing interest in people. 00:02:49 So because of that, we enjoyed being in the ministry. 00:02:53 It gave me a sense of purpose. 00:02:55 I had people to go visit in service. 00:02:57 I had to know what I was going to talk to them about and have a plan. 00:03:01 In field service, we would often take breaks 00:03:05 for the sake of the children and ourselves. 00:03:08 It was important to have our children 00:03:12 enjoy field service—not push them hard 00:03:15 and be too rigid, and so forth. 00:03:19 I think about Proverbs 22:6 in the Byington translation 00:03:23 where it says to “give a boy the start his course requires.” 00:03:28 They did that by putting the spiritual things 00:03:33 before the material things. 00:03:35 Jehovah helped us to be the best parents we could be. 00:03:40 We failed at times, but I always knew that Jehovah was the best Parent. 00:03:44 So if we could teach them to love Him, then he would take over. 00:03:50 Well, we as a family were successful 00:03:53 because we did have Jehovah in our lives. 00:03:55 All our children 00:03:57 are doing very well in the truth. 00:04:00 And so we’re very happy about that, 00:04:02 and I’m sure it makes Jehovah happy.
